Body 'unlikely to be hostage'

A body which was found in India is unlikely to belong to one of the two British hostages kidnapped two years ago, the Foreign Office said yesterday.

A spokesman confirmed that the dental records of Keith Mangan, 35, from Middlesbrough, and Paul Wells, 26, from Nottingham, did not match that of the corpse which was dug from a Kashmir cemetery.

"We have been in touch with the Indian authorities and on the basis of dental records it is unlikely that the body is that of one of the hostages. We have informed the families," he said.

The two were kidnapped two years ago by Al Faran rebels in the Himalayan foothills.